Some of His Holiness’ views often pushed the church’s orthodox boundaries, and this quite definitely set him apart.
Georgina Marie Carneiro
Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio-none other than our very own late Pope Francis was a Jesuit with
a Franciscan approach. St Francis of Assisi was his inspiration. When I heard, way back that
our Spiritual Head was from Argentina, my first thought went to Football. Now, whenever I
hear of Argentina, I think of His Holiness Pope Francis.
He has left a mark in the history of our Catholic Church that will be difficult to categorise.
He based his ministry on the values and ideals of St Francis of Assisi. Ideals like, simple
living, love of the environment, promoting peace, etc. His encyclical Laudato Si subtitled “on
care for our common home”, Pope criticizes consumerism and irresponsible economical
development, laments environmental degradation, and global warming; and calls all people
of the world to take swift and collective action. His encyclical “Fratelli Tutti” drew
inspiration from St Francis of Assisi’s “Canticle of Creatures” and the Saint’s emphasis on
“Fraternity and Social Friendship” is in fact signed at his tomb in Assisi.
Some of His Holiness’ views often pushed the church’s orthodox boundaries, and this quite
definitely set him apart. Pope Francis’s papacy was an open book and he has left his
successor a challenging task. I draw strength from the fact that the Holy Spirit will fortify
and guide the Conclave of Cardinals to choose wisely.
